Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the island’s local authorities must take the lead in preventing squatter settlements and illegal buildings from mushrooming in their respective municipalities. Speaking at a press conference at the St. James Municipal Corporation on November 29, Mr. McKenzie said there are far too many people building houses in areas that...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says it is critical that the region get the necessary support to enable it to effectively prepare, manage and recover from natural disasters. He noted that resilience against hurricanes, earthquakes and other disasters is important in protecting the tourism product on which the people of the region are so heavily dependent. He was speaking...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the Government will be changing the name of the island’s infirmaries, with the process to begin in eastern parishes. He made the disclosure at a recent town hall meeting at the Errol Flynn Marina in Port Antonio, Portland. “So when you go to the Portland Infirmary in a couple...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says unless the issue of disaster risk management and mitigation is seriously addressed, the Caribbean will not be able to maximise its potential as a global force in tourism. “More than any other time in our past, tourism authorities in the region must now seriously address the issue of disaster risk management and mitigation,”...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says two specialised disaster shelters are to be built in Portland to accommodate residents during times of disaster. Speaking at a town hall meeting at the Errol Flynn Marina in Port Antonio on November 22, Mr. McKenzie said the shelters, to be built in the eastern and western sections of...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, is appealing to residents of Portland to be prepared for disasters and to be ready to move to higher ground in case of rising waters. Speaking at a town hall meeting at the Errol Flynn Marina on Wednesday (Nov. 22), the Minister said that while the country has not been...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says events such as the flooding of Montego Bay must be used as a “platform to communicate with the people of Jamaica the great threat that we face from climate change”. “We can’t necessarily say definitively that this (flooding) is due to climate change, but certainly it shows a significant variability in the...